Mayor Bob Parker’s comment that he couldn’t declare a state of emergency was met with jeers of derision from the affected.

Having the legal authority to do so doesn't mean that you should. Good on him for not acting reflexively, which is precisely what is needed in a leader. He's only Mayor of Christchurch, not CD Controller for Canterbury. Going off half-cocked is a superb way to ensure that things get fucked up completely.

I'm glad. And glad too to hear that David's family is OK. Woke up this morning and thought how lucky I was to be waking up in a comfortable bed after a good night's sleep - unlike some of those poor souls waiting, possibly injured, definitely frightened and shocked, for rescue.

Our thoughts are with you all from up here in Auckland and wishing we could do more to help.

Yes. Exactly. I just want to congratulate the PAS community for being there for each other. It's so hard to know what to say, but you guys know. Even when expressing anger, your togetherness shines through. I think that must be the best we can do.

When I quoted Vicki Anderson’s piece, I was actually thinking of her thoughts on media coverage, not that aside about Parker.

Qute – and on that score I couldn’t agree more. For all my cynicism about New Zealand’s media culture, I think they’re well-aware that crossing the line into voyeuristic death porn will cause a swift and brutal backlash. With the live feeds I saw yesterday, I was pleasantly impressed by the lack of "shove a camera down the throat of the crying woman" vox pops.

With the live feeds I saw yesterday, I was pleasantly impressed by the lack of "shove a camera down the throat of the crying woman" vox pops.

Some of that was due to police keeping the media away from victims - and they're also keeping media away from collapsed buildings where people are surviving and dying. But yeah, remarkably tasteful coverage. John Campbell and Hilary Barry particularly have been outstanding.

Agree - for a short amount of time one of the channels (tv1?) was running footage of the guy being pulled from his car with a massive head injury. I'm fairly certain he was deceased... once someone in the control room worked out what the situation was they stopped using it pretty quickly.

QFT. And while the economic impact (yes, the dollar and the stock market took a hit) is a legitimate news story, I’m afraid it’s not really one I fig about. The impact on the RWC – so spectacularly irrelevant right now it verges on bad bad taste.

What can we do to make sure that the media gives absolutely no space or credibility to this idiot, whose previous tendency for post-quake self-aggrandisement in NZ is undermined by this comprehensive debunking?

One thing I found strange in TV3's coverage last night was a specific long-winded warning from Hilary Barry that they were about to show "raw from the camera" footage from the CTV building and people should be warned. She continued to apologise over top of the footage as a body covered in a blood-soaked sheet was removed and then placed alongside a row of similar sheets. Yet they then repeatedly showed ONLY that scene from the footage? It was an odd situation to have been apologising for possibly graphic imagery and then actively choose to show only that graphic imagery again and again.Just one observation amongst what seemed to be otherwise a professional job in extremely tricky conditions.

Been trying to keep the 2yo away from some of the imagery, but he seemed to get this morning that the video of all those ambulances in the park were there for "go to hostipal?"